Improvement in horn combs



MATTHEW H. FAIRCHILD, OF NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT.

Letters Patent No. 90,516, dated .ll/[ay 25, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORN COMBS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of -the same.

`clare the following, when taken `in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and exact descrip?V tion of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in

Figure l, a perspective view of the blank as prepared for cutting the comb;

Figure 2, a transverse section, enlarged; and, in

Figure 3, a transverse section of the form as heretofore constructed.

. This invention relates to an improvement in the manufacture of horn combs.

The usual process has been to p'ress, in suitable dies, the central portion of the blank thinner, pressing the surplus material toward the edges, so as to fill the die, and form the head, as seen in g. 3. By this process, itis impossible to make perfect work, inasmuch as the head will check or crack more or less, as denoted in section, figs. 2 and 3. It is, therefore, necessary to dress or nish. the surface, to work out the checks or cracks, and many of the blanks are lost because the cracks cannot be entirely worked out.

To overcome this difficulty is the object of my invention, which consists in forming the back of the comb, in shape, a double head, the lower'one being thin and broad, while the outer or upper is narrow and thick, forming a groove longitudinally through the back, upon each side, so that the thicker material may shrink, and the groove between the two thicker parts allow such shrinkage without cracking the surface.

In order to theclear understanding of my invention,

I will fully describe the same as illustrated in the ac companying drawings.

I prepare dies, the one corresponding to the other, so that a transverse section will be in the shape denoted in iig. 2.

rlhe material, when in the proper state, is placed between the dies, and compressed, so as to iill all the parts of the die, and form the lower ,he-ad, a, upon each side alike, and the upper head, d, also, upon each side alike, (and upon opposite edges of .the blank, so that the combs are cut from a single blank, in the usual manner.)

The heads ware about twice as broad as their thickness, while the heads Z are about twice as thick as-the width; and between the two heads, a quirk or groove, Q, is formed, so as to bring the blank at the quirks about the same thickness as the body of the blank.

This process is performed while the material is in a softened state, and, consequently, will shrink, more or less, after it is 'removed from the mould.

By making the two heads a and dwith the groove c between, the one head, arnay turn, shrink, or warp from the other, the groove permitting the expansion or contraction of one from theot-her, and thus prevents the cracking while the material is drying.

Having fully described my invention,

What I claim as new and useful, and desire to secure by'Letters Patent, is-

In the manufacture of horn combs, constructing the back with the two parts a and d, of the form described,

with the groove c between, substantially as and for the purpose specied. l

M.- H. FAIROHILD.

Witnesses:

H. F. BLAKE, Aluos S. TREAT. 

